'City AM' posts maiden profit

City AM, the free daily financial newspaper handed to London commuters, has become profitable for the first time since its launch five years ago.

The paper made a pre-tax profit of £423,000 in the first six months of the year, compared with a loss of £419,000 a year earlier.

City AM was set up in September 2005 by Jens Torpe, a former executive of Sweden's Metro International. It distributes 110,000 copies a day around London and the commuter belt.

Mr Torpe said the paper's move into the black was supported by an increase in advertising, and that budgets "had loosened" since the turn of the year. Advertising revenues were up 37 per cent in the first half.